Jetski Kawasaki X2 Cdi Coil. Tested. on 2040-parts.com

Volkswagen Tops Satisfaction Table

ONE of the most respected customer satisfaction surveys is out, and cars made by German-owned manufacturers are the most satisfying – that’s according to a poll of more than 15,000 motorists. German vehicles took seven of the top 10 places in a customer satisfaction table compiled by What Car? and marketing information services company JD Power.

2014 BMW X3 Facelift and more efficient engines

The 2014 BMW X3 (pictured) gets a facelift and new engines The current version of the BMW X3 SUV has been with us for more than three years, so BMW are giving it a bit of a mid-cycle facelift and more frugal engines to keep the X3 on top of its – very successful – game. Engines on offer for the 2014 X3 include the 2.0 litre diesel in the sDrive18d which offers 148bhp and 56.8mpg and the 187bhp in the X3 xDrive20d which returns 52.3mpg, the xDrive30d – which gets the 3.0 litre diesel unit – with 254bhp and 47.9mpg and the X3 xDrive35 which has an impressive 309bhp but still manages official economy of 47.1mpg. When it comes to the cosmetic facelift bits, BMW hasn’t really pushed the boat out, but the new X3 does get a new headlight design which is sleeker, new front and rear bumpers and a new surround for the kidney grill, which all contrive to make the new X3 look even more like a baby X5.

News watch July 2010: today's auto industry news

Welcome to CAR Magazine's news aggregator as we round up the daily stories in the auto industry. Top tip: news summaries are added from the top hour-by-hour Friday 30 July 2010• Renault has reported a net income of €823 million – with an operating margin of 4% and sales up 22% globally. Its worldwide market share now stands a whisker up at 3.8% (Renault)• La Regie said its business was performing much better than during the same period last year, when the recession bit into its profits.